I find that knowing something of the writer's background is helpful for me in understanding their work. I should have been a historian, I tend towards categorizing writers not by personality but historical epoch. One thing wholly lacking in prison is information. The federal Bureau of Prisons is quite terrified of the internet, so no Google. This lack of information aids in infantilizing prisoners. This is part of a series of writers that I did look up when I got internet access. Some will be about the writer, and others may feature the writer. I went to YouTube for my main source, but others will also include some other material relating to the book or author discussed. One thing I did not have when younger was access to information about how writers wrote. I think that kept me from understanding the actual work, which, in turn, led me away from writing.
I began reading Colson Whitehead in prison. Underground Railroad came out, I read it, and was bowled over. In particular, I liked how he plays with genre and is also a literary writer. If you see one of his books, read it. Seriously.
The tragedy of this novel isn’t the degrading nature of slavery and how Whitehead’s characters suffer from it. No, the real tragedy is witnessing Cora and her fellow runaways never getting the chance to fully possess freedom or feel a sense of humanness. Even when they are free from the slave catchers, the plantations and the endless abuse, not once does Cora feel that she can rest easy and simply unclench her fists; she’s always prepared to fight off a slaver trying to kidnap her in the middle of the night. The historical parallels to modern times are unmistakable. Even the more ‘tolerant’ regions throughout Cora’s journey on the railway show how low people will go to take advantage of one another, particularly if they are of a darker complexion.
Still looking for links, I found The Forbidden Thought: A review of Zone One, by Colson Whitehead (Fiction Writers Review).
The magic in Whitehead’s horror story is that the survivors may horrify the reader more so than the zombies. Hypnotized and bothering nobody, the stragglers gain your pity, then your sympathy. Along with Spitz, you envision who they were before, what love or memory has them hovering in a state between man and monster.
But “Pop ‘em and drop ‘em” are the orders, and when Spitz understands his work he sees it as “…an act of mercy,” necessary busy-work for the society to come, one in which bleach will be a booming industry and window makers will reap fortunes. In the absence of the typical running and hiding, he and the others have time to consider all the different monstrosities at work: the skel monsters, the possibly-monstrous act of killing harmless stragglers, and then the monster who permitted all of this to happen.
Book Review: Zone One by Colson Whitehead (The Bibliophage)
Zone One proves that a literary zombie novel is possible. The question is should it exist, just like the zombies themselves. Whitehead mixes gorgeous prose with biting social commentary in the context of world destruction. My brain struggled to absorb the dissonant combination.
***
I think of zombie fiction as an adrenaline-fueled combination of running and munching. This is not at all what I was expecting. Whitehead uses a slow, deliberate pace throughout 90% of the book. The last 10%, not so much. As he describes life in Mark Spitz’s world, he also has plenty to say about ours. Mostly spot-on critical analysis of our current zombie (without the munching) tendencies.
Despite the literary style, or maybe because of it’s beauty, I struggled to progress in this book. It was heavy, slow, and somewhat unpleasant. I give it a guarded recommendation.
Horrorible Review: “Zone One” (Chick Flicking Reviews)
Once I relaxed into the pace and idiosyncrasies of the book I enjoyed it quite a bit. Mark Spitz and the many other characters are interesting and you become invested in their stories. The setting is one of the characters and you really feel its death by zombie horde as Spitz and his gang do their work in the lifeless metropolis. Through the book is a humorous thread concerning accursed Connecticut. Dreary Connecticut, goddamned Connecticut, murderous Connecticut, mephitic Connecticut (see what I did there?) is bashed without a word of explanation. The book has a bazillion corners and once you’ve seen around all of them, learning intimately the histories and feelings of all concerned, understanding fully what is at stake, you will become completely engrossed in the tale and what more can you ask from a zombie novel?
Elwood’s best friend in Nickel is Turner, who seems to have learned the reality of survival faster than most. Turner was “simultaneously at home in whatever scene he found himself and also seemed like he shouldn’t have been there; inside and above at the same time; a part and apart. Like a tree trunk that falls across a creek – it doesn’t belong and then it’s never not been there, generating its own ripples in the larger current.” Turner is affable, artful, cunning and kind; a boy who might have enjoyed the freewheeling adventures of a Huck Finn, if only he hadn’t been born black. Turner isn’t interested in Dr King’s notion of how the world should work; instead, he is clear-eyed about how it does work and how it might work for him. At Nickel boys are supposed to be able to advance their release date through good behaviour, but nobody really knows how the system of merits and demerits works. With Turner’s help, Elwood figures out that all that really matters are the whims of the white person in charge. Nickel is a microcosm of a corrupt world, in which the rule of law is meaningless and the real laws are unwritten.
Review: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (Trish Talks Books)
Reading through Whitehead’s novels in order, The Nickel Boys continues the trend of The Underground Railroad as being an easily readable, engaging novel with important themes. Both have been less experimental in tone and depth than his earlier work. Not better or worse, just different. I enjoyed the reading experience, with beautifully drawn characters in Elwood and Turner. Elwood is the main character, a Black teen filled with the utmost integrity and solemn drive to do right. He is a quiet, steadfast social justice advocate who chooses to do the right thing somewhat naively, putting himself in harm’s way. Ironically, it is when he’s minding his own business in the pursuit of education that he runs afoul of a rigged police and justice system, and finds himself a “student” at the Nickel Academy, a school and “rehabilitation” centre for boys. There, he meets Turner, who will become his fast friend, and who is worldly-wise and cynical.
A tragedy worth reading: A review of ‘The Nickel Boys’ (The Boar)
One very harsh criticism I have of this book was the order of events. The narrative unfolds over different time periods and is divided into several parts. Although I thought it was a clever structural choice, especially when it came to the twist, jumping between the present day and the 60s was hard to keep up with at points. I also thought that it interrupted the pace of the book sometimes, making it hard for the book to maintain consistent momentum.
However, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to absolutely anyone. Exploring themes such as racism, justice, resilience, and trauma, this book’s moral message will leave you astounded.
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